Frozen bonds
by Nymia
Summary: 2 months after their victory on Amon, Bolin and Mako stay with Korra at the south pole for a few days. But then Bolin gets upset and runs away, will Mako be able to comfort his little brother and bring him home again?


**First fanfiction, so go easy on me please ^^ **

It was unusually silent when Mako entered their tent. The floor was still messy, clothes laying all around but the bed was empty. Only the unmade bed, the filthy covers and the pillow lying around indicated Bolin was here once.

"Bo?" Mako called out, stepping into the room a little more and closing the curtain in the meantime. The cold wind was already blowing through the opening, cooling the room. Mako brought his hands to his mouth, warming them using his fire.

Slowly Mako made his way over to Bolin's bed, trying to find anything that would lead him to his younger brother but as expected he found nothing. Mako sighed, walking outside of their tent again, immediately greeted by the usual cold.

Wind was raging around him, blowing the snow into his face. He grumbled slightly, quickly walking over to the main tent. It had been 2 months after the attack with Amon, and him and Bolin were staying with Korra's for a few days.

Everything was different after that fight. Korra was now staying at air temple, to perfect her air bending techniques. Mako was now working at the Republic city police force, and was busy the whole day. And Bolin was now teamed up with different teammates and became the captain of the Fire Ferrets, since Mako and Korra had quit.

They hadn't seen each other for a long time, so they had decided to stay with Korra's family at the Southern water tribe for a few days. But right now, Bolin was nowhere to be seen and that was something that worried Mako a lot.

"Korra?" Mako called out, walking into Korra's room. His girlfriend was laying on her bed, playing with some water above her. Her hair was loosely bound in a ponytail and a faint smile lingered on her face as she watched the water above her.

"What's up Mako?" Korra grinned, quickly glancing over to Mako and then back to the water again. Mako took a few hesitant steps into the room, sitting on the edge of Korra's bed and taking a deep breath.

"Have you seen Bolin?" He asked, looking over to Korra. The avatar glanced towards Mako, dropping the water and sitting up too, so she was sitting next to Mako.

"No, I haven't seen him since dinner" She said, frowning slightly. Something was off about Mako's reaction. "What's wrong Mako? Is Bolin alright?" Her voice barely above a whisper. She hated seeing the worried look on his face.

"I can't find him anywhere Korra" He whispered and looked up to Korra. "I just want to know where he is, he has an act of getting into stupid situations you know?" Mako shrugged, standing up again.

"I know Mako" Korra chuckled slightly. "But I'm sure he's okay Mako, I'll go look for him if you want" She offered, giving him an assuring smile. Mako shrugged slightly but eventually returned the smile too.

"Thanks Korra, you're the best" Mako smiled and walked towards her. He tipped her chin up, planting a quick kiss on her mouth. Korra giggled slightly and then playfully shove him away.

"Now go pretty boy" Korra laughed and put on her boots, looking over to Mako's worried face. "We'll find him Mako, I'm sure he's just fine" Korra assured him as she began to walk outside her tent, folding her jacket around her.

"Thanks again Korra" Mako said again as he followed Korra outside, tightening the scarf around his neck. He knew his worrying about his younger brother was stupid, and Bo was probably alight, but still he was worried about him.

He was the only family he had left in the world. After their parents were killed by the fire benders, he only had Bo, and he had vowed to protect him from anything in the world, his little brother.

"Don't worry about it Mako" Korra shrugged. "And good luck" She said before walking away. Mako merely nodded before walking off too. The wind was icy cold against his skin but his natural warmth protected him against it.

Small flames escaped his mouth, trying desperately to keep himself warm. "Bo? Bolin?!" Mako yelled on top of his lungs, hoping his little brother would respond eventually, but the reply never came.

There was only ice around him, water and ice. Next to him was the cliff, water was hitting the hard ice, splashing up and sending shivers to his spine. He walked along the cliff's, enjoying the view for a moment until he saw something.

Mako's eyes narrowed, focusing on the small black spot in the distance. It couldn't be, right? He remembered the place, Korra had been there just 2 months ago. Right after Amon had taken away her bending.

The place where she got her bending back and went into the avatar state for the first time, and Mako was surprised to see his little brother there, his knees drawn to his chest, his arms folded around them and his chin resting on top of them.

Silently he walked over to him. "Bo?" He called out, trying not to startle him, but no response came from his little brother. "Bolin?" He tried again but again there was no reply.

Fear was starting to build in his chest as he approached him, clearly seeing the sobs that wracked through his body. The sniffling sound he was making and the tears leaking down his eyes. He hated seeing Bolin crying.

"Bro?" Mako whispered, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder. A shiver ripped through his spine at the cold feeling. "Bo, you're freezing!" Mako yelled, placing a hand on Bolin's forehead, and just as his shoulder it was freezing cold.

"Speak to me bro, what are you doing here?" Mako whispered kneeling next to his little brother. His green eyes weren't focusing, staring towards the sea. His cheeks were stained with tears and his eyes were red and swollen.

"Oh spirits" Mako mumbled, unwrapping the scarf around his neck and giving it to Bolin. But still he wasn't reacting so Mako had to tie it himself. He rubbed his hands together, creating some small sparks and began to rub Bolin's arm to warm him up.

Bolin was shivering under his hold and he still wasn't reacting. Bolin sniffled slightly and slowly leaned towards his brother, resting against his brother's chest. Bolin's movements were slow and stiff, and his skin was still freezing cold.

"What were you doing out here Bo?" Mako whispered, still trying to warm his little brother up. He didn't say anything, just continuing to stare towards the sea in front of him. His body was still shaking, both from the sobs and the cold.

Mako could feel his own body starting to get cold but his fire bending was preventing him from getting too cold too soon, which would eventually be too dangerous. But all Mako could think about was his shivering little brother beneath him.

"Do you think about them often?" Bolin whispered. His voice was soft and so vulnerable. Mako wrapped his arms tighter around Bolin's shivering body, sending small waves of flames to warm his body up, but not enough to burn him.

"Who do you mean Bolin?" Mako whispered. The skin beneath his fingers was starting to warm a little but cold was still wracking through his body, and Mako still had to be careful not to burn his little brother.

"W-with the dinner tonight, just s-seeing K-Korra's family" Bolin started, unable to hide the shiver lingering in his voice. Fear started to build in Mako's chest, he knew where this was going. He knew what Bolin was about to say, but somehow he still hoped he wouldn't.

"I miss them M-Mako" Bolin whispered, burying his face in Mako's chest and crying, tears streaming down his face in big rivers, grabbing Mako's shirt until his knuckles were starting to get white from the pressure. And Mako didn't need Bolin to say it, he already knew he was talking about their parents.

"I-I couldn't s-stand seeing t-them, w-why did t-they... have to l-leave us Mako?" He sobbed in Mako's jacket, his face buried deep inside the soft material. And suddenly Mako knew why Bolin left. Seeing a happy family, something they never had was too much for him, and prompting him to run away.

"I don't know Bo" Mako whispered, shifting slightly on his spot. The ground was ice-cold, literally, and slowly he was starting to get cold too but seeing the shivering form of his little brother made him push the thought away.

Bolin sniffled, another shiver wracking through his body. And Mako knew he had to get Bolin to a warmer place very soon otherwise his body would react badly to it, and he hated seeing Bolin sick or anything.

"M'tired…. And cold" Bolin slurred, leaning more and more. Mako bit his lip slightly as Bolin fully leaned against his hold. His breaths were coming out in wheezing sounds, his chest heaving with every breath he want to take.

"Let's get you back to the tent" Mako said, picking Bolin up, bridal style. Mako shivered again, Bolin's skin was still icy cold and he was still violently shaking, his eyes were closed and his face towards Mako's chest.

And the labored breathing indicated he passed out, totally exhausted and unconscious from the cold he was exposed to. And Mako knew, he had to get Bolin home very fast.

**LineBreak**

**LineBreak**

Bolin's skin was way too hot, sweat was trickling down his forehead and his hair was clamped to his skull. His mouth was partly open and he was desperately trying to get in enough oxygen, but his lungs wouldn't fully cooperate.

And it pained Mako to see his little brother struggling for every breath. To feel how warm he was and how bad his fever had gotten in the last few hours. From the moment they had brought Bolin home a fever had spiked up.

The sudden change from cold to warm was just too much for his body, and the long exposure to the extreme cold only made it worse. And that was the reason he was now fully unconscious in his bed.

Katara had visited several times, trying to heal him with her water but the fever was something she couldn't treat, and was something that had to heal on its own. She could lower his temperature slightly, but the fever kept increasing after every healing session.

Korra had visited multiple times too, being worried sick after she heard the news of Bolin, but Mako hadn't told her anything apart from the fact that Bolin was extremely upset by something, this was something between him and Bolin after all.

Mako slowly looked up again when a low groan escaped Bolin's lips. His head fell to the side, and slowly his eyes opened again. They were still a bit unfocused because of the fever but eventually they locked onto Mako's eyes.

"Hey bro" Bolin said softly. Mako cringed slightly, Bolin's voice was raspy and he was struggling to say those few words, and Mako could clearly see the pain his younger brother was desperately trying to conceal.

"How are you?" Mako said, ignoring Bolin's comment slightly and leaned forwards, placing his hand on Bolin's forehead. Mako shivered heavily, despite the fact that he was warm all the time, and thus used to the heat, he wasn't used to the heat coming from his little brother.

He didn't want to admit it, but Bolin's fever was bad, really bad. And he would surely be out of it for at least a few days. If it wouldn't be more.

Bolin seemed to think about Mako's question for a bit, slightly confused at first but once he remembered new tears appeared in the corner of his eye. and within seconds they were falling again. Streaming down his cheeks.

"What's wrong? Does something hurt?" Mako exclaimed, immediately alerted by Bolin's tears but his little brother violently shook his head. Closing his eyes slightly to calm down. Mako grabbed his hand carefully, rubbing it with his thumb to calm him down.

and only then Mako realized, that beneath the fun-loving brother everyone adored, was still the little scared brother he had vowed to protect from the day their parents were killed. And even though he tried to hide it, Bolin still missed his parents, their parents.

"I miss them Mako" Bolin whispered, slowly opening his eyes and looking towards his brother "Why did they have to leave us?" That last part was something Mako never wanted to hear. He hated it when Bolin felt bad about his parents.

"They didn't leave us Bolin, you know that" Mako said, sighing slightly and closing his eyes. He could feel his own tears burning behind his eyes, threatening to come but he bit them back. He had to support Bolin right now.

"I know... b-but they s-still..." Bolin struggled to find the right words, and his voice was still rasping. "I m-miss them, e-every day and every n-night.." Tears welled up in his eyes and he began to shake again. Sobs wracking through his body again.

"They didn't leave us Bo, they loved you, father did, mother did" Mako said, nudging his shoulder slightly. " I love you too, and I'll never leave you, I promise" Mako said. Bolin blinked a few times, trying to push back the tiredness he was feeling.

"You promise?" Bolin whispered, his eyes almost closing completely. He was struggling to stay awake. Mako sighed and stood up, his brother needed to sleep right now. Even though he would never admit it.

"I promise Bo, and I'll do everything to protect you" He assured and ruffled Bolin's hair slightly. "Try to get some sleep, I'm sure you'll be better once you wake up." He said and stood up, ready to walk away but a small voice stopped him.

"Mako?" The fire-bender whipped his head around, looking over to Bolin's bed at the small voice, still rasping. Bolin's eyes were slightly open, and only the look in his eyes said enough. Mako sighed and fully turned around.

"You want me to stay do you?" Mako smirked slightly. Bolin's face flushed, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks as he looked away, slightly ashamed.

"Maybe" He whispered, but before he knew Mako was already at his side. A small smile appeared on Bolin's face as Mako climbed on top of his bed. "Thanks Mako" He whispered, happily leaning against his brother's chest like they'd do when they were younger.

"Any time little bro" Mako sighed, wrapping his arms around Bolin's body. Bolin shifted slightly, burying his face in Mako's chest again as a faint smile spread on his face, and within minutes he was asleep again.


End file.
